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In The Hoop
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 14, 2002

Welcome to In The Hoop, Indianz.Com's occasional column about assorted Indian issues.

Gwich'in to Walk to Washington
As if the Sovereignty Run weren't enough to grab your attention, there's another cross-country event taking place this fall.

Members of the Gwich'in Nation of Alaska and Canada are kicking off the Walk to Washington next week in Seattle, Washington. The goal is to highlight the importance of caribou in Gwich'in family life and to oppose drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the traditional birthing grounds of the herd.

The walkers will join two other groups and convene in Washington, D.C., on November 16, just in time for those critical elections. And as the House and Senate try to resolve an energy package that may or may not allow development in the refuge.

Reporters Won't Stop Calling Native Dad
Native families haven't gotten this much attention since, well since ever, but Wenceslao Quiej of Guatemala is taking it all in stride.

"Every morning, the phone starts ringing, and it keeps ringing until we go to bed," Quiej tells The Los Angeles Times.

Quiej is the father of formerly conjoined twins who were separated after a 22-hour operation in California. The mainstream media has reported at length on the affair but not much has focused on the family's Mayan heritage.

Quiej, 21, and wife Alba Leticia Alvarez, 22, are from Guatemala's Pacific Coast. They plan to return home with Maria Teresa and Maria de Jesus -- affectionately know as the Maritas -- sometime in the future.

Comings and Goings
If you're wondering why Secretary of Interior Gale Norton has hasn't gotten much media attention lately, look no further to the recent but temporary departure of press secretary Mark Pfeifle.

Pfeifle, a former Republican National Committee aide best known for his animated quotes about Arctic drilling and Robert Redford and his partnerships with crooner Wayne "Give Me Back Pocahontas" Newton, has taken some time off to help the GOPs defeat the ethically-challenged Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-N.J.). A tough job but Pfeifle seemed upbeat about the prospects when we talked to him recently.

Less contributing to Norton's silence has been a shift of personnel in her communications family. This employee rode to D.C. on the coattails of Deputy Secretary J. Steven Griles but has since been moved to an office under Assistant Secretary Neal McCaleb.

In Your Hoop
Are you going to walk, run or crawl for sovereignty this year? Email In the Hoop and let us know.